S.F. NEIGHBORHOODS Bayview's new branch library, unlike 'bunker' it replaces, lets light shine on one of city's most neglected neighborhoods

Updated 3:04 am, Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Jennifer Wu straightens up the shelves last week at the Bayview branch library, which opens Saturday.

Jennifer Wu straightens up the shelves last week at the Bayview branch library, which opens Saturday.

Photo: Jessica Olthof, The Chronicle

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Ken Tan gets books ready at the Bayview branch. The new library has 15-foot-high windows and twice as much usable space as its predecessor.

Ken Tan gets books ready at the Bayview branch. The new library has 15-foot-high windows and twice as much usable space as its predecessor.

Photo: Jessica Olthof, The Chronicle

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Ashley Carskaddon prepares the children's section of the Bayview branch library last week. The new building opens Saturday.

Ashley Carskaddon prepares the children's section of the Bayview branch library last week. The new building opens Saturday.

Photo: Jessica Olthof, The Chronicle

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The interior of the new Bayview Branch library on February 14th, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif. Bayview residents are set to get a brand new library the grand opening on Saturday, Feb 23. The new branch is 2,000 square feet larger than its predecessor and has a more welcoming exterior than the "bunker-like" old branch. less

The interior of the new Bayview Branch library on February 14th, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif. Bayview residents are set to get a brand new library the grand opening on Saturday, Feb 23. The new branch is 2,000 ... more

That's how many saw the old library at Third Street and Revere Avenue, an imposing brick building built in 1969 and demolished in 2011. Its replacement officially opens on Saturday with double the usable space and a unique design that Brooks-Burton said is putting a positive spotlight on one of the most neglected parts of San Francisco.

"We have something that's on par with all the other neighborhood branches in the city and maybe even better," said Brooks-Burton, the library's southeast district manager, who was branch manager of the old location for 16 years. "It's the air quality in here, the light, the openness - and the fact that we can see outside."

The new 9,000-square-foot space has windows that go from the floor to the 15-foot-high ceiling and is one of only two branches to have a living roof, which can be partially seen from inside. It will have twice as many books as the old branch, a space for teenagers already stocked with manga and 25 computers for public use, up from only six before. The history of the Bayview is also a focus, with Afrocentric tiles on the walls and panels outside that show landmarks like Sam Jordan's bar and the shipyards.

Past, future blended

"I think it's a model of a 21st century library," said City Librarian Luis Herrera. "I think it tries to be a blend of the past, but it speaks to what future generations in that neighborhood want."

Bayview is the 23rd of 24 libraries that were renovated or rebuilt under a $106 million bond measure passed by voters in 2000. Its budget was originally $11.8 million but ballooned to $13.6 million when the library shifted from awarding the project to the lowest bidder to making an effort to involve more local workers following a community outcry.

While companies were slow to bid on subcontracts at first, the project ended up far exceeding neighborhood hiring goals. The city required 30 percent of subcontractors to be local businesses, but contractor participation in the project reached 68 percent. About half of the construction work hours were performed by San Francisco residents, and more than half of those residents were from District 10, primarily from the Bayview-Hunters Point community, according to the Department of Public Works.

"When you bend backward to try and reach some of these goals and try to get the community involved, there can be some extra costs," DPW Director Mohammed Nuru said. "But every penny has been worth it."

Local contractors

Nuru said the southeast area of the city has the most difficulty attracting local businesses to construction projects, something Freddie Carter, the general contractor for the library project, knows all too well.

"Oftentimes, local contractors only get to look through the fence at what's being built," Carter said. "This demonstrates that if given the opportunity to succeed, local contractors can."

Nuru said Carter went "far beyond the call of duty" and spent more hours on the project than many other general contractors the department has hired.

"He's from the neighborhood and he wanted to see a job well done," Nuru said. "If we had more Freddies, we'd be able to help more people on similar projects."

Carter, who's lived in the neighborhood for 31 years and remembers the old building as "a little dungeon," said he's most proud of the enclosed courtyard area where patrons can take materials outside without having to check them out. During a sneak peek party for library supporters last week, Carter got to see the courtyard put to use.

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"You can go out and have a quiet time," he said. "The night was giving it nice overtones - it was almost romantic."

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